Drive-By Violence Grows in West End : Shootings in Santa Ana Arouse Summertime Fear

Wednesday night drive-by shootings in western Santa Ana left four people wounded and prompted new worries Thursday by city officials and residents in the neighborhood about increased street violence this summer.

Drive-by shootings in Santa Ana are already more frequent this year than in 1988, police said, and gang activity typically increases in the summer. In response, city officials said, stepped-up enforcement is under way.

“This is unacceptable in our community,” said Councilman Ron May, a member of the council’s Public Safety Committee. “If it takes increasing the size of our gang detail, we’ll do it. We’ll do what’s necessary to get a message to the gangs that in Santa Ana their days are numbered.

“Summertime is always the most serious time of the year, because the weather is hot, the days are long and the kids are out of school. The summer months are a major concern to us. But we’re determined and dedicated to bring these incidents to a halt.”

Police on Thursday sought a gunman who fired from a speeding car about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, wounding two boys riding on a bicycle in the 2300 block of West Monta Vista Avenue.

The gunman then shot a 21-year-old man and wounded another teen-ager after the car rounded the corner to the 600 block of South Townsend Street.

Some of the victims were wounded several times, but all are expected to live, police said.

As in many such shootings, police had little to go on. Witnesses reported only that the car was blue, and police do not know how many people were in the vehicle.

It is not known whether the shooting was random or whether the gunman was out to get specific individuals, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said.

One victim, Carlos F. Gutierrez, was treated overnight for a face wound at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center and released Thursday. Gutierrez, 21, was shot as he stood in his yard on Townsend Street. No information was available on conditions of the three juvenile victims, ages 13, 14 and 15.

9-Year-Old’s Killing

Several residents of the area also expressed concern about crime in their neighborhood. One recalled that it was at nearby Monte Vista Elementary School two years ago that 9-year-old Patricia Lopez disappeared; her body was found two days later in a drainpipe near the Santa Ana River.

Raul Magana said “many bad things” have happened in the three years that he has lived on Monta Vista, not far from the latest shooting.

“Two years ago, I had my truck stolen from right outside,” said Magana, 31, speaking in Spanish. “There was the little girl from Monte Vista School, and there’s always shooting in the night--I don’t know where it comes from.”

A native Salvadoran, Magana said the shooting reminds him of El Salvador, but he also realizes the difference: “There, the guerrillas and the soldiers fight, but civilians don’t fight with civilians.”

A woman who lives on nearby Sullivan Street said she fears for children, many of whom she said are in danger just by playing on the street. “It’s dangerous, not a good place,” said Maria Hector, 57. “It’s better to leave after it gets dark.”

But youths interviewed Thursday night, some of whom said they had heard the shooting and know of previous drive-by shooting victims, said most of the incidents are the results of teen-agers trying to impress their friends.

“You learn to ignore it,” Monta Vista resident Marco Garcia said. “They’re just out for a little action.”

Some said police do not do enough--or can’t do enough--to stop gang violence and drug dealing. “There are too many kids doing drugs,” added Raymond Garcia, Marco’s brother, saying he feels safe in the neighborhood. “They want to belong. They want to tell their friends, ‘Yeah, I belong to a gang.’ ”

Councilwoman Patricia A. McGuigan, who represents the neighborhood where Wednesday’s shooting occurred, said: “I feel badly for the families. It’s a very sad situation when things like this occur. My heart goes out to them.”

McGuigan said she had not seen reports recently from police about the number of such shootings increasing in the area and said she is unfamiliar with details of Wednesday night’s incident.

But, she added: “Some of the shootings I have heard about are not necessarily gang-related. Sometimes they’re random, and that’s just as bad.”

About 50 drive-by shootings have been reported so far this year in Santa Ana, in contrast with about 70 in all of 1988, according to Police Lt. David Salazar, chief of a unit that includes gang crime investigations. Not all of the reports have involved injuries, but they are blamed for four gang-related deaths this year; there were six in 1988.

In response, police plan a stepped-up counterattack, Salazar said.

“Our plan for this summer is to use everything at our disposal,” including new laws allowing stiffer sentences in gang crimes, he said. “We’re going to put gang investigators out to support patrol (officers) on a continual basis through the summer.”

In the most troubled areas, other agencies--including the county district attorney’s office, the California Highway Patrol and state parole officials--will aid investigations and prosecution, Salazar said.

There have been multiple injuries and deaths in previous shootings, but Wednesday’s incident apparently involved the largest number of people wounded in a single drive-by incident, according to police spokeswoman Thomas.

The neighborhood is not considered a gang hot spot but, she said, “we’re having more and more problems at that location.”

Times staff writers Thomas Becher, Richard Beene, George Frank, Jeffrey A. Perlman and Bob Schwartz contributed to this report.